Read Online Stay by Chelsea Camaron - Free Book Online Page A

supposed to believe in this Heavenly Spirit when my beginning had been so rough? Did they really think there was some Almighty Creator watching over us? If so, they had to be sadly mistaken. Why would the Heavenly Father allow such things to happen to me? Larger plan , they said. Life was life, and no one was going to be in charge of my destiny, regardless of the Almighty. Maybe one day I could believe, perhaps even forgive, but until that time, I did the work I had to while laughing inside at their false hope in something absolutely unreal.
    Amanda said I was jaded. She wouldn’t have survived my history, much less come out of it as Suzy Sunshine. If jaded was the worst thing she could say about me, I would take it, all while smiling and thinking, if she only knew the whole truth ...
    Regardless of her judgments, Amanda and I were friends. Randi, she, and I had formed a bond. Well, as much of a bond as we could form, given I was living a lie. We spent many afternoons together at one another’s houses, studying and gossiping much like I suspected normal teenagers did.
    Like any other year, the beginning of our junior year started with new teachers, new classes, and new students. Fall was here, and this year was the year we would make our mark. The three of us had finally filled out. I had the figure of a Victoria Secret model. The lady at the store had even told me to submit something for a casting call. Giano had quickly shut her down, but I did fall in love with their classic push up bra that gave me more cleavage than a teen girl probably should have.
    Randi had managed to fill into a small B cup while she remained short and tiny. Her blonde hair now came past her shoulders in spiral curls, and her makeup would forever be overdone. Mandy still had her big butt, and while she had grown taller, she hadn’t filled out beyond the added fake-chicken-cutlet-looking, plastic things she added inside her bras.
    We had become our own version of the three amigas and rarely weren’t together. It was hard to call them my friends when they truly didn’t know the truth, but they were really all I had. I firmly lived by the less is more code. The less people I associated with, the safer I would be long-term. These two seemed to understand that I was shy and didn’t push me to branch out of our tiny circle. I was okay with that. There was a comfort in it.
    “You know, Natalie was caught last night blowing Tyson at the football game. What a slut!” Amanda criticized, much like she did every day. She had a hard up hatred for Natalie, and I really didn’t know why.
    “A slut I wanna be.” Randi laughed her reply.
    I sighed, remaining quiet, refusing to engage in the conversation. High school, what a difficult place—not yet a grown up, but no longer a little child. The world kept spinning, while I struggled to find solid ground outside of the house.
    “Angelina, you seriously need to upgrade your room,” Randi stated matter-of-factly, only annoying me further.
    Why couldn’t teen girls mind their own business? The more time that went on, the more their critical opinions of everyone and everything bothered me. Maybe I was finally maturing and growing up.
    My old canopy bed creaked as I got up, but the metal still held strong. I blew out a frustrated breath and moved to the window.
    “Seriously, the pink, the lace …” Amanda’s voice trailed off as I smiled, holding my lace curtain between my thumb and finger as I had many times before. “We’re not ten anymore, Lina.”
    I looked out into the backyard, wishing I could escape their scrutiny. They always wanted to come to my house, yet they always complained about my room décor.
    “We’re not trying to be harsh; we’re just your friends,” Randi added her opinion. “I got rid of my dollhouse when we were, like, twelve, yet you hold onto yours like we’re going back in time instead of growing up.”
    “Maybe we’re not ten anymore, but maybe it’s okay to let time